Local College and High School Sports Roundup: Chico State men's soccer team left out of regional field

The Chico State men's soccer team struggled to get home from the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament thanks to a broken bus. The Wildcats were forced to leave a day later, Monday morning, until it could get repaired. The Wildcats then learned Monday afternoon that they had been left out of the NCAA championship tournament for the first time in three seasons.

The Wildcats entered the weekend ranked No. 5 in the West Region. They tied No. 7 Cal State Dominguez Hills 1-1 before advancing to the CCAA title match on penalty kicks Friday, while No. 8 Cal State Stanislaus beat No. 6 Cal State L.A. 4-1 in the other semifinal.

The Wildcats seemed to have a berth locked up, leading the Warriors 2-1 late in Sunday's title match. But Cal State Stanislaus scored twice late to pull off the come-from-behind 3-2 win, besting the Wildcats for the first time in three tries this season.

Lexi Towner (98) led Chico with a 71st-place finish. Also for the Panthers, Ali Smith (102) came in 73rd, Nicole Dempsey (107) tied for 75th, Lindsay Harrison (120) was 81st and was followed by Ashley Villegas (136, 82nd) and Amber Avila (144, 83rd).